Cotton-machine.



J. G. CONRAD. COTTON MACHINE.

APPLIOATION I'ILED AUG. 22, 1911.

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COTTON MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 22, 1911. 1,046,441 Patented Dec. 10, 1912.

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JOSHUA C. CONRAD, 01 CEMENT, OKLAHOMA.

COTTON-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 22, 1811. Serial No. 45,345.

- ton which has been picked from the boll and "for threshing and cleaning cotton which has been picked with the boll. i

A further object. of my invention is to provide a machine of the class mentioned equipped with means .t or crushing the bolls and of such construction that a stone or.

other hard si'abstance passing therethrough will not injure the same.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the class mentioned in which the parts may be. readily removed for cleaning or repairs.

A further object of my invention is to provide a machine for the purpose men tioned which shall occupy a comparatively small space and of such improved construction that it shall not become choked when in operation.

A further object of my invention is to provide a pneumatic feeding device for the cleaning machine which shall remove all of the cotton from the current of air used for delivering; the cotton through the device and deliver the cotton to the cleaning apparatus free from the action 01" the air cur rents.

Other objects'will appear hereinafter.

\Vith these objects in view my invention consists generally in a. cotton threshing, and

. l cleaning machine consisting oil: a pair ol coacting boll crushing members yieldingly mounted with relation to each other, means for feeding, the cotton between said members, suitable screens, a series of rotary members or cylinders for moving the cotton through the machineinintimate contact with said screens whereby part of the bolls and the trash and dust together with other dirt such as gravel and small stones, is sifted from the cotton and the cotton delivered from the machine to the distriluiter of a; gin or otherplace as desired.

h'l'y invention furtl'ier consists in a ma chine characterized as above mentioned equipped with suitable hoppers for receiving: the dirt which passes through the screens and suitable conveyers for removing the dirt from the hoppers.

lily invention further consists in a device as mentioned in. which the screens are removably secured in position in order that the same may be removed from the device for cleaning and repairs.

My invention further consists in a feeding device for a cotton machine comprising a casing etpiipped with a conduit: leadiz to a fan or other suitable device for creai on a partial vacuum within the casing, 21 ro tary member in the casing 'n-ovided with portions projecting from the periphery forming a number of pockets and engaging successively the lower portion of the casing, a discharge opening being provided in the casing" below the rotary member and positively shut oil from direct communication with the upper portion of the by the projecting portions of the rotary men'il'ier, a toramii-iated hood in the upper portion of said casing spanning said rotary member and spaced therefrom and a conduit for the cotton leading into the space between said hood and said member.

My invention further consists in a cotton threshing and cleai'iinn" machine and the feeding device for the same and. means whereby the cotton delivered fro the discharge opening of the feeding device may be fed to the crushing members of the threslu ing macnine or directly to the pin or other desired place.

My inveirttion :turther consists in various details of construction. and arram i i ts in parts all as will be fully described alter and particularly pointed out claims.

My invention will be more readily nndcrstood by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which- Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section through a cotton. machine embodying my invention in its preferred. form, Fig. 2 a transvcr. section taken on the line c -.1; oi Fig. 1, Vic; 33 is a detail face view of one ot the crushing members, and 4 is a detail view upon an enlarged scale casing.

' are arranged with I ironbars or plates 16 bolted or secured to vby , mounted board extending ton fed through i directed either to y-ieldingly in position.

illustrating the engagement between the rotary member of the feeding device and the adjacent parts of the lower portion of the Referring now to the drawings 1 indicates the housing of the threshing and cleaning machine which includes a pair of parallel sides 2-2 and frame members 3. The housing is provided with a hopper bottom 4 terminating at its lowermost portion in a trough 5 in which is mounted a screw conveyer or worm 6. The top of the housing has an inlet or feed opening 7 defined by the side walls 2 and a pair of transverse frame? members 8.

Directly below the feed opening? are theboll crushing'r'nembers consisting of a rotary cylinder 9 and a coacting concave 10. -A cylinder 9 comprises a pair of solid end wheels 11 and a plurality of bars 12 secured at the ends to said wheels. The wheels and bars 11 and 12 are preferably formed of heavy cast iron and the bars their edges abutting forming a closed cylinder. Each bar 12 is provided with a plurality of diagonally disposed lug's or. ribs 13. The cylinder 9 is mounted upon a shaft 14: havingbearings in boxes 15 fixed to theframe of the device. The concave 10 'is coextensive in length with the cylinder 9 and comprises a heavy timber 15 and a plurality of cast one face thereof and provided with diagonally disposed lugs or ribs 17 similar to the I lribs 13 and adapted tocooperate therewit It should be noticed that the'face of'the' concave 10 is curved to conform to the cylinder 9 with which it cooperates to crush the bolls. The concave 10 is-fixed to the ends of rods 18 which are slidably mounted in frame members of the housing and which rods are provided with nuts threaded upon the ends of the same to limit the movement of the concave toward the cylinder. spring 20 is coiled about each of the rods 18 and interposed between the concave and the frame thereby holding the concave When thedevice is .in operation the cotton and bolls are fed between the cylinder and the concave and mounting the latter inthe manner speci-' fied injury to the machine is prevented in the event that a stone or other hard substance should be fed through with the cotton and bolls. 21 indicates hingedly above the concave 10 and the inlet or feed opening 7 and constituting a valve whereby the cotsaid opening may be the crushing devices or into - out of the machi'neto the gin or other place as desired.

Arranged beneath the cylinder 9 a to the cylinder and arranged close thereto.

The screen 22 reaches from a point adjacent the bottom of the concave. 10 to the other side and is mounted upon removable sup: ports 23. The cotton and bolls passing from between the crushing of thescreen 22 through which a large por tion of the crushed bolls, refuse and dirt is dropped and the cotton with the remainder of the bolls anddirt is discharged from the opposite side of the screen from the concave. Directly beneath the screen 22 is a V-shaped trough 24; adapted to receive the siftings fromthe screen 22 and in the bottom of said trough is'a screw conveyer 25 which extends transversely of the machine discharging dirt at the side thereof into 'a chute 26 leading to the hopper 1in the bottom' of the device. a

After the cotton leaves the screen 22 it passes between a series of beaters 27 28 and cylinder and concave are carried by the cylinder across the top 29and co-acting screens 30, 31 and. 32 by I I means of which the remaining dirt and-part of the bolls are removed from-the cotton. The beater 27 is arranged behind and in a lower plane than the cylinder 9', and the beaters 28- and 29 are arranged in a still lower plane, in front of the beater 27 and below the hopper 24:. The screen 30 extends over the top of the rear of the same and tance under the bottom cotton is maintained in contact with a large area of screening and the direction of the same through the machine reversed in order for a considerable disbeater 27 around the thereof,jwhereby the thatthe device shall occupy a minimum amount of floor space. The screens 30 and 31 are arranged to cooperate with substantially the entire lower half of the respective beaters 28 and 29. It should be noted that the rear edge of the screen 22 is'curved outwardly as at 33 and'that the forward end .of .the screen 30 is curved upwardly as at 34;

in order to direct the cotton passing from the screen 22 between the screen 30 and heater 27. The c linder 9 and the several beaters rotate in t e directions indicated by the arrows. The

through the screens the hopper'bot'tom into the trough from the machine by means-of; the worm or screw conveyer 6. As the cleaned; cotton is discharged from between the beater 2'9 and screen 32 it may dirt and refuse passing 30,31 and 32 dropsupon 4 from whence it passes 5 and is then discharged 1 be feddirectly to the distributer of a gin or otherwise disposed of as desired.

'- Thebeaters 27 28 and 29 each comprise a wooden cylinder 35 provided with a large number of pins 36 projecting from. the peripheral face thereof. In practice I have formed these pins by driving wire-nails into the cylinders 35 and then cuttingoff the into,

heads of the nails, however, i do notconfine myselil to this specific manner of constructinc" this portion of the device.

A minimum amount of belting is used for operating the device. The shaft 1d of the cylinder 9 provided with e pulley which is connected by a suitable belt With the line shaft of the gin house. The opposite end of the shaft 14 is provided With a large belt wheel 38 and the shafts of the heaters provided With similar but smaller poll; s or belt Wheels 3'3, it) and ll respectively. iln endless belt passes around the Wheels 2-39, 420 and 'l and the periphery of the Wheel 38 extends Within the common tangent of the Wheels 39 and ell in order to frictions-ill en 'oge the belt By this construction and arrangement the heaters are driven at s greater speed than the cylinder 9 thereby venting cholriig of the me- .l The shaft oi": the Worm and the shaft ol one of the boaters are provided With it pair oi small pulleys l3 ended respeclive .y which are connected by a belt do.

The screens 39, 31 and 32 are mounted upon removable transverse members :6 in order that the some may be removed for cleenine and repair. The several screens oi? t device extend from side to side and indor f), concave 10 and the several boaters the machine leaving but SillfiClQl'lil clearance at the to prevent binding of the movin; ports.

ing the cotton to t arises a casiiw" div 5 1e machine. Thiscomided by e t'crominoted from the outer portion to ten. e. conduit lending ortion of the beneath nlet for the cotton r feeding the cotton or v hin the'hood the cieening mein air current or The casing ion i? and a itlric'el lower portion *l-u'.

extend substantially the Width of pneumatic device is provided for feed- 7, which opening iset the center of the cylindrical portion 48 of the casing. The outer edges of the paddles ore provided with flexible strips or Wipers 57 which are adapted to engage the inner face of the portion d8 of the casingend eiiectuelly cut otf all-suction or air currents from the discherge opening. The Width of the opening Tis substantially the same as the distance between two of the paddles and the Width of the sections of the cylindrical portion 48, from the discharge opening to the upper edges of said sections is somewhat greater than the distance between two of the paddles in order to insure an airtight joint at all times.

58 indicates a terminated hood spanning the r'otery member 54: and extending from the upper edge of one section of the portion l8 or the casing to the upper edge of the other section of the some. The upper porion of the hood is raised at one part, considerably above the rotary member and tapers downwardly therefrom to the end or ends of sold member as indicated at 59 in Fig. 2. A conduit 60 for the cotton leads into the hood beneaththe raised portion thereof. A partial vacuum is created with in the upper portion of the casing which cunses a strong current in the conduit 60 by means of which the cotton is drawn into "to wing device beneath the hood and scattered over the inner face of the hood. The of the hood being many times greater than the cross section of the conduit 430, the suction is greatly reduced on the cot-- ton. under the hood which therefore drops, from the hood on tothe rotary member 54, and entering the pockets 561's carried to the opening 7.

To prevent the choking up thereby maintaining too great a pressure under the some to permittne cotton to drop cotton from completely from the hood into the pockets, the lower portion of the hood is shaped to conform or form a continuation oi 'the cylindrical Wells 4-8, as indicated at 61 in Fig. l, by which construction the wipers 5? keep the cotton clean from the lower portion of the hood permitting escape or enough air to suliicicotly reduce the pressure. Horizontal portions 2 connect the upper edges of the cylindrical portions 48 and the lower edges of the larger upper portions 47, and the .liorizoulel portions are provided with openings '33 for cleaning the casing. (i l indicate closures for suid openings. The hood 58 is of line mesh to permit (lust and fine send to. pass through the some and yet retain all of the cotton. I

l losides being iiscd With a cleaning machine, the l'ewling device may olso be used as on mload'or from the Wagon to the storage house.

the foroiniiuited hood and screen extending over,

Having described my invention what 'I' claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a cotton threshing and cleaning Inachime, a pair of co-acting boll crushing members comprising a rotary cylinder and a yieldingly mounted concave provided on their co-acting faces with metal plates having a plurality of projecting lugs, a screen extending under said cylinder, from said concave, a beater arranged in a plane below said cylinder and to the rear of the same, a

back of and under said beater to receive the cotton passing from the first mentioned screen, the upper vertical end of said screen being curved upwardly above the adjacent end of the first said creen, and a plurality of similar beaters and screens arranged forwardly of the first mentioned beater and in a plane below the same, substantially as described.

2. In a cotton threshing and cleaning ma vchine a pair of waiting boll crushing mem' a rotary cylinder and a coacting concave, a screen arranged beneath said cylinder, a beater and screen arranged back of and in a plane below said cylinder, a plurality of similar beaters and screens bers comprising arranged forwardly ofthe first mentioned beater and in a plane below the same, a transverse-hopper arranged beneath the first mentioned screen and above the last mentioned beater, a conveyer in said hopper, a hopper arranged beneath said heaters and co-actingscreens, a conduit connecting the first mentioned hopper with the last mentioned hopper and a conveyer in the last said hopper, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

Witnesses:

W. B. Noarncurr, J E. GILL.

JOSHUA o. ooNa n 

